The West Chicago Garden Club

$20 for Members
$30 for Non-Members

Register Online at our Square Store

We need at least 30 people to sign up by June 6 to make this trip possible! Bus field trips are intended to take us to places that are further afield. We have booked a deluxe coach bus with comfortable seating & a restroom onboard. Julie has planned some trivia & games for the trip back to help pass the time!

In the past, we have seen a surge of signups for field trips during the last week – unfortunately, we cannot wait for that for this field trip! Due to the expense of the bus, the board has agreed that we need at least 30 people to signup before the last date when we can cancel the bus reservation. If you are interested in this trip, please consider signing up now!

We will visit Sheridan & Princeton Illinois with two very unique garden centers. Hornbaker Gardens also has an arboretum & botanic garden. There will be a Garden Festival at Redbud Creek Farm that day.

The bus will have plenty of storage underneath if you decide to purchase anything, however, there should be plenty to see and do even if you are not interested in shopping. The websites for both locations are linked (underlined text) so you can take a look at more information there.

8:30AM: Bus departs from St. Andrew Church parking lot
9:30AM: Arrive at Redbud Creek Farm. In addition to this unique garden center, there will also be a Garden Festival.
Noon: Depart Redbud Creek Farm
1PM: Arrive at Hornbaker Gardens. This is a garden center, botanic garden & arboretum.
3PM: Depart Hornbaker Gardens
5PM: Return to St. Andrew Church

Redbud Creek Farm Garden Center’s Garden Festival will have local artists & craftspeople along with live music. Lunch will be available to purchase from the Newark FFA (Future Farmers of America) or you can bring your own.

Hornbaker Gardens has, in addition to the garden center, an arboretum and a botanic garden. There is also a picnic area if you would prefer to bring your lunch there.

Are you interested in making your yard a place for birds yo visit, feed, nest, and raise their chicks?

Learn what birds need to make your yard their home. Inviting birds into our gardens by creating a
habitat is a joyful way to connect with nature and help support birds and pollinators.

Birds in the Garden: Creating a Bird Oasis features Pam Karlson’s photos from the Chicago bird habitat she created, illustrating how it is possible to attract over 100 bird species in your very own backyard.

Tips include landscape enhancements, practices, and plant selection, with an emphasis on native plants. Chicagoland’s location along the migratory route, bird species diversity, habitat, diet/foraging, nesting,
supplemental support and community science will also be discussed.

Meeting Location: St Andrew Lutheran Church (NE Corner of Prince Crossing & Geneva Road.)

Meeting Time:

• 6:45PM Arrive & Mingle
• 7:00PM Business Meeting
• 7:15PM Program

We’ve been busy at the Kruse Garden the past few weeks doing the Spring clean up; weeding, dividing, removing (editing), planting, trimming and cutting back. The evidence, the growing mountain of yard waste in the driveway. Hopefully, it will be removed soon.

It’s wonderful to see some new faces showing up to help make the garden more beautiful. It’s always great to get some new garden perspective, and additional hands to accomplish all to the tasks.

I took a brief Mother’s Day stroll through the garden to admire the hard work that has gone into the garden and to just enjoy and see what’s in bloom. When you are there working you get so focused on the job at hand that you don’t always see the overall beauty of the garden. The lilacs are blooming; most
coming to the end of their peak. They are still so fragrant and beautiful. You can find the lilacs along the driveway and along the fence. I didn’t realize how many Camassia’s we have coming up and how spread throughout the garden they are. They combine so well with the dwarf yellow iris, allium and brunnera to name a few. Camassia is a perennial herbaceous plant the grows from a bulb and can grow 24-48 inches tall.

The bridal veil shrub is still blooming in the front of the house and along the fence line, not my personal favorite shrub but seems very fitting in the historic home. The containers throughout the garden are awaiting the addition of the summer annuals. The Nepeta or catmint is starting to bloom. I found some trillium in bloom, celandine poppies, columbine, sweet woodruff, brunnera and many others. I encourage you to take a walk through the Kruse Garden and enjoy! The peonies are getting ready to pop!

As a reminder everyone is welcome to join the gardening fun at the Kruse Garden on Wednesday’s 9am to 11:30; bring your gloves and your favorite gardening tool.